Shadowing Practice: Academy Stars 3 Welcome - Learn English Speaking with Video

This video has 43 sentences and 297 words to shadow. The speech runs for 2:59. The speaker talks slowly, about 99 words per minute, so there is time to copy every sound. Only 74% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English, so the vocabulary is demanding.

Key vocabulary in this video

13 less common words from the video, with pronunciation and meaning:

• desert /ˈdɛz.ɚt/ (noun) — A barren area of land or desolate terrain, especially one with little water or vegetation; a wasteland.
• tennis /ˈtɛnɪs/ (noun) — A sport played by two players (or four in doubles), who alternately strike the ball over a net using racquets.
• twin /twɪn/ (noun) — Either of two people (or, less commonly, animals) who shared the same uterus at the same time; one who was born at the same birth as a sibling.
• celebration /ˌsɛl.ɪˈbɹeɪ.ʃən/ (noun) — The formal performance of a solemn rite, such as Christian sacrament.
• lion /ˈlaɪən/ (noun) — A big cat, Panthera leo, native to Africa, India and formerly much of Europe.
• copyright /ˈkɑpiˌɹaɪt/ (noun) — The right by law to be the entity which determines who may publish, copy and distribute a piece of writing, music, picture or other work of authorship.
• swim /swɪm/ (verb) — To move through the water, without touching the bottom; to propel oneself in water by natural means.
• elephant /ˈɛlɪfənt/ (noun) — A large mammal of the family Elephantidae in the order Proboscidea, having a trunk, and native to Africa and Asia.
• burger /ˈbɝ.ɡɚ/ (noun) — A hamburger.
• dictionary /ˈdɪk.ʃəˌnɛ.ɹi/ (noun) — A reference work listing words or names from one or more languages, usually ordered alphabetically, explaining each word's meanings or senses, oftentimes also…
• kindergarten /ˈkɪndəɹˌɡɑːɹt(ə)n/ (noun) — The elementary school grade before first grade.
• grape /ɡɹeɪp/ (noun) — A small, round, smooth-skinned edible fruit, usually purple, red, or green, that grows in bunches on female vines of most species of genus Vitis and the…
• mango /ˈmæŋɡəʊ/ (noun) — Any of species Mangifera indica of tropical Asian fruit trees.

Phrasal verbs you will hear

• come with (verb) — To join and come along.
• play with (verb) — To fiddle with; make small adjustments to, for example to something mechanical in order to improve its performance.

Pronunciation to watch

The speaker uses 17 contractions and reduced forms, such as I'm, we're. Say them the short way, as you hear them.

• The “sh” and “zh” sounds: celebration /ˌsɛl.ɪˈbɹeɪ.ʃən/, dictionary /ˈdɪk.ʃəˌnɛ.ɹi/
• Long words — get the stress right: celebration /ˌsɛl.ɪˈbɹeɪ.ʃən/, dictionary /ˈdɪk.ʃəˌnɛ.ɹi/, kindergarten /ˈkɪndəɹˌɡɑːɹt(ə)n/

How to practise with this video

1. Listen to the whole video once without speaking and note the words you do not know.
2. Shadow it sentence by sentence at normal speed, repeating each one until your rhythm matches the speaker.
3. Record yourself and compare with the original, paying attention to words like desert, tennis, twin.